


Deck of Cards

by Anonymous



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: F/F, Gen, That black and white diamond leotard Freddie wore is kinda important, a tad bit of shenanigans, also minor angst but mostly fluff, king AU, minor frian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 17:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17166347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: One joker card. All it took was one joker card.Brianne looked at the pile of clothing strewn across her bedroom, dresses and costumes covering every inch of her bed and the majority of her floor. She still remained unsure of how it happened so fast—at one moment she was preparing to play solitaire, and before she knew it she found herself looking for a scandalous outfit with Melina.





	Deck of Cards

**Author's Note:**

> This was created as a Secret Santa gift, but I also wanted to put it on other platforms.
> 
> Also this is my first time writing any kind of Queen fanfiction, so I hope it’s all right!

For what felt like the first time in a while, Brianne treated herself to a small gift: a deck of playing cards. Though their aesthetic remained simple, they brought the guitarist a surprising amount of joy. Given the stress the new album had been placing on them, as well as the chilling cold of the winter, all she had wanted was a small break from reality. She now had a chance to escape her problems for even the shortest while.

With a slightly too long fingernail, Brianne poked at the plastic film around the box. A ghost of a smile graced her features when she felt the film give way and tear when she moved her nail. She tore off the covering and placed her nail under the box’s flap, lifting it and revealing 54 fresh cards. Much like with a new book, her breathing unconsciously became deeper to catch its scent. Her eyes closed and, for a second, she felt herself transported to the past. The scent brought to life a fleeting sense of nostalgia, letting her remember the smell of the old bookstores she once explored. Just as fast as she was taken to the past, Brianne found herself back in the present with a simple exhale. Her eyes fluttered open, looking down at the half-opened deck of cards. Remembering where she was, she gently turned the box upside down and let the cards slide onto her right hand.

The smoothness of the cards almost threw her off-guard. Two cards—an ace of spades and a black and white joker—slip and fall by her feet. Cursing her clumsiness, she put the other cards on her desk and reached for the rogue duo. However, she was stopped by a persistent knock at her door.

“Brianne, dear,” a familiar voice called over the knocking, “are you in there?”

The brunette sighed, irritated by the presence outside her door. With haste, she picked up the fallen cards and ran for her door. Upon opening the door, Brianne was met with a somewhat shorter woman, long black bob and piercing eyes catching her own hazel eyes. “Was there a particular reason you needed to knock on my door for so long, Melina?”

Her roommate gave her a shy smile in response. “I do apologize for that, but I have to say it did work.” The singer was met with an unamused stare. “Okay, okay, I was just going to ask if I could go over some lyrics ideas with you?”

“Oh, sure, come in,” the taller woman answered. She waved in Melina and fully opened her door, allowing the shorter woman to saunter in. Brianne watched Melina walk toward the bed for a second before going back to her desk. Taking a seat, she picked up her other cards and started looking through them. “You don’t mind if I mess with these while you talk, do you?”

“Of course I mind, dear,” Melina replied, voice laced with sarcasm. The guitarist glanced at her roommate with an arched brow. Melina rolled her eyes: “They’re your cards, do what you wish. I just want to ask a few questions and receive your opinion regarding my lyrics.”

“Sure, go ahead.” Brianne looked down at her cards, all slightly spread out in her hands. She flipped them over, curious to see the other suits’ art style. With the exception of the aces, the cards had classic illustrations, reminiscent of most decks. She took out the aces and jokers and put the rest of the deck aside, letting the top few cards slide off the pile. She looked more intently at the six cards in front of her, studying the patterns in the aces and the checkered suits of the jokers. Her eyes moved along every line within the aces’ suits, and before she even knew it she was captivated by the black-and-white joker. Though it had the simplest design of the cards in front of her, the guitarist couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity by looking at the figure. Her head tilted ever so slightly and her eyes squinted; she could’ve sworn she had seen Melina draw a similar design for a costume. Just as she was about to reach her conclusion, a somewhat shrill voice brought her back to reality. Startled, she looked up at her roommate and was met with an irritated stare.

“Maggie, dear,” Melina started, saying her nickname in a overly sweet tone, “have you heard a thing I’ve said this entire time?”

“I, uh,” the guitarist struggled to answer, ashamed to admit she hadn’t. Any words she had died in her throat, and the singer’s arched eyebrow made her want to crawl into a hole. Brianne sighed in defeat: “I’m afraid I hadn’t, I’m sorry.”

The older woman matched her roommate’s sigh. This wasn’t the first time she had found Brianne distracted in the past few weeks, but this was the worst Melina had seen her. Exasperation began to surge within herself, but fought to suppress it and focus on the once more distracted guitarist.

Brianne continued to look at the joker, pensiveness and defeat etching themselves into her face. Melina felt as though something were off with her friend, but could not put her finger on it. With as little noise as she could, she began to stand and walk over to the still Brianne, curious to see what was on the card. She stopped behind the sitting woman, looking down at the card.

From the way Brianne had been staring at it, Melina had been expecting something more than a small joker. The simple illustration was not unlike the leotards she had designed for future concerts—rather, she thought the joker’s outfit was just like a costume a friend had finished for her. _Well, a bit more modest_ , Melina quipped in her head, but she was quick to push that thought aside.“You know, I have a nearly identical costume.”

“I’m not too surprised. I remember seeing one of your sketches lying around and I think there was something similar to this on it.”

The singer’s head snapped down a bit more, watching Brianne’s head move to look at her roommate. Melina found herself staring into the guitarist’s hazel eyes, the latter’s eyes jaded and exhausted. Despite the spreading numbness she got from looking at Brianne, Melina had gotten an idea. It took everything in her power to tear herself away from the aimless gaze. For the first time since being in the guitarist’s room, she smiled. “I’ll be right back, darling.”

“Wait, what?” Brianne’s question, though meant for Melina, would be spoken to no one. Melina had already run out of the room and slammed the door. The guitarist wanted to follow the older woman, but knew better than to do anything but sit still when she was inspired in such a way. With nothing better to do, she picked up the rest of her abandoned deck and began to shuffle the cards.

It felt like no time had passed when Melina returned. Much like her first entrance, she started with a long knock, but before Brianne could protest, the singer let herself in. The guitarist’s eyes widened upon seeing a box the size of Melina being pushed into her room. Once the box was fully in, the older woman closed the door and took a second to recompose herself.

“So, care to explain to me what this idea is?” Brianne asked. She had a vague idea of what could’ve been in the box, but was too tired to make a game out of guessing.

“This is all meant to serve as a way to destress,” Melina began. “This past month has been rough for all of us, but I noticed it’s been getting to you the hardest.” Brianne looked down at her desk; had she really been that out of it? She knew she had become less cooperative, but given the growing tensions, she assumed everyone had felt the same.

“Listen, I’m so s-“

“Don’t start, because we both know that’ll turn into a guilt fest, and this is not the time.” Brianne was rendered speechless. “All right. Look, this box is filled with clothes—past, present and future. It has outfits for every single one of us, including a special leotard I’d been saving for a future concert.”

“Let me guess: the Joker outfit?” Brianne smiled upon seeing Melina’s nod. “So, what’s the point of the entire box being in here?”

Melina’s hands began to fidget. “I, um, don’t quite know where it is in here.”

A dull pain made itself known in Brianne’s head. “I’m sorry, I thought this was meant to be a way to destress?”

“I didn’t say you had to look for it yourself. Also, I’d say it makes the perfect distraction from our problems, wouldn’t you?”

“I mean, yes, but this will still be a fucking mess to clean up! I will still have a pro-“

“Shush darling,” Melina silenced the taller woman by walking to her and placing a finger on her lips. She brought Brianne into a side embrace: “Everything will be fine. Just, please, take a while to forget it all.”

Still skeptical, the guitarist acquiesced. “Fine, but you’re cleaning this up when this is done.”

“Deal.”

* * *

“Ah, he we are!”

After thirty minutes, seven outfit changes for Melina and nine for Brianne, and one destruction of a bedroom, the singer finally found the leotard. When Brianne looked up to the source of the voice, she gawked. The leotard, much like the Joker’s costume, was a simple black-and-white diamond pattern. The similarities would end there, however. The neckline was all but nonexistent, the plunge stopping right below the belly button. Brianne was almost certain Melina’s chest would be dangerously exposed while wearing it, if not completely. The sleeves, while Brianne felt it was less important than the lack of a front, were about 3/4 length compared to the Joker’s long sleeves.

“Well, what are your thoughts?” Melina looked at the dumbfounded guitarist. She knew her costumes were getting more revealing with time, but she loved to give her audience a shock. Brianne’s face, while not unexpected, affected the singer more than the largest audience could ever do. To her surprise, a pit of nervousness formed in her stomach.

“I, um—don’t you think it might be a bit, uh, revealing?”

“Yes darling, that’s the point.”

“I mean, it could lead to wardrobe failures and all—“

“Then I’ll know that it’s a tits-out kind of day.” At this point, Melina was starting to find Brianne’s prudence rather endearing.

“But what about the audience?”

“What about them?” She knew where Brianne was going, but couldn’t help but entertain herself with her careless responses.

“Don’t you think it might be a bit... alienating? Especially considering international audiences?” Brianne was wringing her hands raw by now, and the singer decided to finally put her at ease.

“Listen dear,” Melina began, once more approaching the guitarist and shushing her with a finger to her lips, “you must know that I’m not that crazy. I’m going wear this outfit, but I won’t be doing anything out of the norm that’ll scare our audiences while wearing it.” The guitarist still had uncertainty in her eyes. “Would it put you at ease if I put it on now to show you just how it would fit?” Melina realized she still had her finger on the other’s mouth and removed it.

“I-I suppose it would, yes.”

The singer smiled reassuringly at Brianne. “Excellent, dear. I’ll be right back.” Stopping only to pick up the leotard, Melina walked to the closed door and opened it as much as she could before slipping out and closing it again.

Being alone for the first time in almost an hour, Brianne had a second to think about past events. Overall, she couldn’t believe the night she was having. One joker card. All it took was one joker card.

Brianne looked at the pile of clothing strewn across her bedroom, dresses and costumes covering every inch of her bed and the majority of her floor. She still remained unsure of how it happened so fast—at one moment she was preparing to play solitaire, and before she knew it she found herself looking for a scandalous outfit with Melina. Not only was the leotard found, but both of them saw outfits they once wore and stage, as well as completely new clothing. She was unsure of _how_ she even convinced herself to try something on, but now that her room was in complete disarray, she didn’t bother to think of why.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Melina’s reentrance, and any thoughts she had were gone. Her bandmate looked stunning in the leotard, almost unstoppable. It hugged her every curve but still left enough to the imagination. Brianne was grateful that the risk of a wardrobe malfunction was low; the neckline still plunged to right below her navel, but the more scandalous parts of her body remained safely covered. The guitarist always found Melina to be graceful, and the leotard only seemed to accentuate those elements for Brianne.

She figured she had been staring for too long when the singer cleared her throat. “So, I take that you like what you see?” A ghost of a smile appeared on Melina’s face once she saw the guitarist nod. “Now you see you have nothing to worry about. On stage.”

Brianne began to blush at her last addition, prompting the older woman to laugh. The guitarist’s blush only deepened from the reaction. She hid her face in her hands, praying for the heat in her face to go away. She soon heard the laughter come to a stop and some minor shuffling toward her. When she moved her hands away from her face, she saw Melina in front of her, about to lay a hand on her shoulder. Brianne’s eyes stared at her hand, moving down her arm before landing on her face. Her eyes locked with Melina’s, and any embarrassment and tension she felt melted. The other’s gaze, while still intense, made her feel at peace. Brianne started moving toward Melina, and the other did the same. Without thinking, she pulled the singer into a hug, her gangly arms tightening around the other woman. Melina weakly hugged her back, still in shock.

“Thank you, Melina,” the guitarist said. Her voice was weak and barely above a whisper.

“Always happy to be here for you,” the singer hugged back with more enthusiasm, “though I almost thought you were gonna kiss me based on the way you were staring.” She heard the guitarist groan in realization and she couldn’t help but laugh. Melina patted her bandmate on the back before pulling away. Smoothing her leotard, she asked, “so, should we start to put this all away?”

“ _We_? Remember you said you’d clean this up!”


End file.
